On 12-13 September 2017, the TrustLaw team and social innovation experts will run a two half-day, CLE accredited Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Training in New York City.
This course will explore key legal issues and trends in the social innovation space and provide lawyers and other professionals with the skills they need to advise the different stakeholders in the sector. It is a first-of-its-kind course to combine hands-on legal training with practical case studies and excellent networking opportunities.
Upon completion of the training, participants should be able to:
- Understand the shape of the social economy in the U.S. and how the U.S. has positioned itself as a leading player in this space globally.
- Advise on the appropriate business structure for different social enterprises and on different mechanisms to lock social mission into business activities.
- Recognize the key legal issues facing social entrepreneurs to help ensure agreements and commercial documentation reflect the financial and social realities of this rapidly growing sector.
- Have a clear understanding of innovative tools and mechanisms used to inject capital into socially focused businesses, including social impact bonds, crowdfunding and impact investment funds.
- Design and structure investment transactions using innovative impact terms and approaches to align investors with varying financial return and impact objectives.
Participants will become part of a community of practice that facilitates the sharing of lessons learned and best practices in the realm of social entrepreneurship and impact investing. Additionally, upon completion of the course, attendees may be given the opportunity to participate in related pro bono projects through TrustLaw, enabling them to apply the skills and knowledge gained to real-life matters.
CLE:
This course is approved for 8-10 CLE credits in California, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Credits issued will be based upon verified attendance and applicable rules.
Pricing
Half-Day - $250 | Full Course - $400
Breakfast, lunch, and drinks reception included. Group discounts are available. NGOs and social enterprises are entitled to a reduced rate. For more information, please contact Carolina Henriquez-Schmitz.
The cost of the course goes to support the work of the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono service, TrustLaw, which connects the world’s leading legal teams to provide free legal assistance to NGOs and social enterprises working for social and environmental change.
Agenda
- Part 1
- Part 2
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Social Enterprise
The first half-day of the course is designed to provide participants with a big picture market overview of the social enterprise space in the United States and beyond. Three topics, ranging in format from lectures to interactive workshops, will give attendees a thorough overview of the market, structuring options, and the key legal challenges that arise for lawyers and other professionals serving this space.
8:00 – 8:30 | Registration & Breakfast
8:30 – 8:50 | Keynote Address
8:50 – 9:10 | Opening Address: State of the Social Enterprise Sector
A market overview of the social enterprise sector in the U.S. and beyond, including definitions of social enterprise, key terminology and key debates.
Speaker: Dana Brakman Reiser, Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School
9:10 – 9:30 | Lecture: Structuring Social Enterprises and Protecting Social Mission
Understand the range of different structures available to social enterprises and the practical advantages and challenges of each. This session will also discuss protecting the social mission of "profit with purpose" businesses and the different legal mechanisms to lock in social purpose.
Speaker: Susan Mac Cormac, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
9:30 – 9:45 | Break
9:45 – 10:45 | Panel: Where Mission Meets Form: What Legal Structures Social Entrepreneurs Choose and Why
A panel discussion that will provide insight into different legal structures chosen by social entrepreneurs and the impact it has on achieving social mission, to separate the hype from the practical utility of the new forms.
Moderator: Susan Mac Cormac, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Speakers: Frederick Alexander, Head of Legal Policy, B Lab; Allen Bromberger, Partner, Perlman & Perlman; Jonathan Ng, Attorney Advisor, USAID
10:45 – 12:00 | Workshop – Structuring & Locking in Social Mission
This interactive session will build on the previous sessions, and allow participants to practice advising social entrepreneurs on the right structure and how to lock in social mission based on case studies.
12:00 – 12:15 | Networking Break
12:15 – 13:15 | Through the Eyes of a Social Entrepreneur
Overview of the key legal challenges faced by new social businesses including shareholder agreements, intellectual property, privacy policies, and employee issues. The session will include an interactive panel in which featured social enterprises will share practical lessons about real-life legal issues encountered.
Moderator: Perry Teicher, Impact Finance Attorney, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Speakers: Margot Brandenburg, Founder and CEO, MyStrongHome; Cynthia Koenig, CEO, Wello; Cara Schembri, VP and Deputy General Counsel, Etsy Inc.; Rahama Wright, President & CEO, Shea Yeleen
13:15 – 15:00 | Lunch: Networking & Social Enterprise Expo
Lunch expo to showcase interesting developments in social entrepreneurship from around the world. Meet some of the most innovative social enterprises and check out their products and services. Expo participants include: IssueVoter, Keheala, NaTakallam, Nomi Network, Vera Solutions and more!
Accompanying the lunch expo will be an Optional Session on Legal and Investment Readiness for Social Enterprises. The session will explore the range of legal and business considerations social enterprises need to address in gearing up to access financing. From corporate governance, to employment and intellectual property, we will share guidance, case studies and resources in a highly interactive session.
Speaker: Jennifer Barnette, Associate, Cooley
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Impact Investing
The second half-day of the course will deep dive into the social finance space, bringing the legal perspective to topics including impact investment fund structures, innovative financing mechanisms and structuring investments for impact.
8:00 – 8:30 | Registration & Breakfast
8:30 – 8:50 | Keynote Address
Ross Baird, President, Village Capital Group
8:50 – 9:10 | Opening Address: State of the Social Finance Sector
A market overview of the social investment space in the U.S., covering facts and figures on the size of the market, review of the "big players", and identification of key gaps, challenges and opportunities to move the market forward.
Speaker: Joe Wilson, Senior Advisor on Innovative Finance, Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact, USAID
9:10 – 9:30 | Lecture: Impact Investing and Impact Investment Funds
Lecture on the legal structuring of social impact funds and how the differing needs and requirements of social investors are reflected in a fund.
Speaker: R. Todd Johnson, Founder and CEO, iPAR
9:30 – 9:45 | Break
9:45 – 10:45 | Panel: Structuring Impact Investments and Impact Terms
Key fund managers and financial intermediaries discuss how they structure their funds, and how to strike the right balance between social and financial returns. The session will explore the innovative investment terms and alternative structures they use to create more impact and better returns.
Moderator: R. Todd Johnson, Founder and CEO, iPAR
Speakers: Brian Trelstad, Partner, Bridges Fund Management; Lynn Roland, General Counsel, Acumen; Maria Santos Valentin, General Counsel, Soros Economic Development Fund; Adam Wolfensohn, Co-Managing Partner, Encourage Capital
10:45 – 12:00 | Workshop: Investment Terms - Structuring for Impact
Interactive workshop where participants will practice drafting a custom financing term sheet designed to preserve social mission and will advise social impact companies and impact investors on how to strike the right balance between social and financial returns.
12:00 – 12:15 | Break
12:15 – 13:15 | Discussion: Innovative Financing Models
A broad look at innovative finance mechanisms that mobilize private sector capital in new and more efficient ways to deliver positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes. The session will also discuss gaps in the market and explore future perspectives on the space.
Moderator: Deborah Burand, Faculty Co-Director, Grunin Center on Law and Social Entrepreneurship
Speakers: Navjeet Bal, Vice President and General Counsel, Social Finance; Georgia Levenson Keohane, Executive Director, Pershing Square Foundation
13:15 – 15:00 | Closing Luncheon and Global Perspectives on the Future of Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Panel
Closing luncheon and lively discussion with leading social innovators that will provide insight into new approaches taken to support social enterprise and impact investing around the world.
Speakers: Rehana Nathoo, Vice President of Social Innovation, Case Foundation; Veronica Olazabal, Director, Measurement, Evaluation and Organizational Performance, The Rockefeller Foundation; Stuart Yasgur, Managing Director of Social Financial Services, Ashoka
